Before It's Too Late
by FlamingRose11
Summary: Casey has been looking forward to college with excitement.ambitious atmosphere,independence, and no more Derek. but when on a college road trip, she realizes all she's looked forward to may be the last thing she wants. DASEY! don't own life with derek. Rr
1. chapters 1,2 and 3

" What's with this whole family meeting

Before It's Too Late

CHAPTER 1

" What's with this whole family meeting?" asked Derek, as he pushed his way past his stepsister.

" Maybe it's about your insufferable tendency to be inconsiderate of everything and everyone standing in a ten foot radius of you!" said Casey suggestively. She was Derek's stepsister. Since her mom had married Derek's dad, she had to make new friends, deal with new siblings, and crawl her way back up to the top of the social ladder while fighting Derek from pulling her back every step of the way.

"Kids, get down here!" called George, Derek's dad. Derek and Casey hurried a tad quicker down the stairs, pushing and shoving the whole way.

"Can't you get along?" Nora (Casey's mom) said under her breath.

"Mom," Casey said, " that's like asking a Neanderthal and Leonardo da Vinci to have a civilized discussion. Eventually someone is going to swing a club towards the other's head."

" If only I could," Derek said as a response to Casey's glare.

" Guys, try to get along for two minutes so that we can talk about what you're doing this summer." George said, "As I'm sure you two remember, you just ended your junior year of high school, so next year you will be seniors and applying for college, so this summer we are going to be researching colleges all summer."

" Yes!" Casey and Derek yelled together.

"Wow," Nora said, "you two actually agree on something."

" I'm just glad you guys are giving us a chance to think ahead and get a head start on all of this stuff. At least you're giving us a choice as to where you want us to fulfill our potential," said Casey.

"Yeah, and those college parties are wild!" Derek added.

"Oh no," said George, "you two are going to be doing some real research into these colleges. We are going to look at colleges all over Canada and even some in the United States. You will read some material on the schools you're interested in over seas because we don't have the money to go over there and look at them. Gas prices are already eating a hole in my pocket. Your research begins now." George handed them a large stack of DVDs sent out by the colleges. They were from what seemed every college from North America and then some. Then George and Nora left the room.

" Okay then. Let's get started." Casey said.

" Wait what?" said Derek, " this is the most boring junk anyone could ever get their hands on. I mean, all they say in these things are all the same. They are always talking about the great opportunities and what great classes they have and yadda yadda yadda. Wrestling is on tonight and I don't want to miss it."

" Professional wrestling is just acting. None of it is real. It's all set up. Besides, you're missing the student life category," Casey said slyly. Derek smirked. " What? The part where they tell you dorm room regulations and all of that?"

" No," said Casey, " the part where they show what the students do on campus which means plenty of gorgeous college girls to feast your eyes on. See? I get all the useful information, you stare at the college beauties you could never get, and everybody wins."

" I'm going to disregard that comment and let you turn on your little programs, but if I don't see any college girls in the first tape, I'm taking it out and watching wrestling while you can go watch your goody two shoes program elsewhere," Derek said. Casey smiled "done."

"This better bee worth my time" mumbled Derek, and Casey put in the disc.

" Don't worry it will be,' Casey reassured him.

CHAPTER 2

Derek groaned in frustration. " Casey, we've been watching this tape forever. When are girls going to be on the screen?"

" Patience Derek," Casey said, sounding like she was losing her own, " it's only been twenty minutes. They tell you all the academic stuff first and then at the end they talk about student life." Derek got up from the recliner.

" Whoa, where are you going?"

" To do something worth my time. Call me in when 'student life' comes on. That's all I'm even slightly interested in."

" Aw. Too bad because I'm not telling you when the student life section begins. If you want to see it, you'll have to sit through it all." Casey smiled. She knew how far Derek would go just to see a girl he could never get his hands on. Of course she also knew how easy it was for him to get girls you would think are way out of his league.

" Fine," he said reluctantly.

" Fantastic," said Casey. They spent the week watching videos all saying the normal stuff schools want you to believe. Everything about how they would give you an education like no other and the rest of all the normal things. Derek found it to be one of the worst things to spend his time on.

" I think I have been cheated." He said, "The student life sections are only the last tid bit. I'm getting out of here before you put on another tape."

" Well, all of them have been watched so now George and mom are going to want to know where we're thinking of going to school. That way they can plan the road trip and all the stops along the way. I'm thinking New York University in New York, New York, maybe Columbia, Harvard, the university here in Vancouver, and the school in Chicago. Oh! And I'm thinking also Stanford University down in California. What about you?"

" I'm thinking of looking into the University of Dallas down in texas and the school over in Toronto. I also was thinking of New York University and maybe not Stanford, but Maybe University of California, Los Angeles, or what they like to call it, UCLA. I was also interested in their foreign exchange programs. Maybe I could play hockey somewhere really amazing like Sweden or Russia."

" Derek, you surprise me," said Casey, " you really put some thought in your decisions, but why university of Dallas if you're interested in Hockey? Isn't that a little far south for Hockey?'

" Oh," Derek said, as if all of this was an afterthought, " I just wanted to go to see university of Dallas, I don't know that I would really go there. I just wanted to see if the girls there are as hot as they were in the video," he said, smiling the smile of what Casey considered scum as he got up from his chair leaving Casey alone on the couch with a disgusted expression on her face.

CHAPTER 3

"Alright," George said, obviously excited, " thanks to Casey's superb list of colleges you were interested in, Nora and I have finally worked out a road trip for you two to visit all the colleges. We will all be going together. Everyone will. We will drop Casey and Derek off at the colleges and they will visit them for three to five days to get the feel of each one. As they are doing that, the rest of us, being Nora, Marti, Lizzie, Edwin and I to see the sites!"

"I want to be with Casey and Smerek!" Marti said as she crossed her arms.

Don't worry Marti," Casey said, "we're only going to be there for a little while, and every time we come back from the visits to the colleges, you can tell us all about the sites you saw and all we missed out on."

"Yeah, it has come to one of the few times Casey has had a good idea. What do you say, Smarti? Shake on it?" Marti skeptically and slowly uncrossed her arms. "Okay!" she finally said, taking Casey's and Derek's hand.

Two weeks later, they found themselves packing up to go to Toronto, one of Derek's choices.

" Here Case, you forgot your journal;," Lizzie said, handing her the purple and green notebook that could mean her doom if Derek got a hold of it.

"Thanks Liz," Casey said.

The car trip wasn't too long, but Derek made it quite unenjoyable. Tugging on everyone's hair, even Edwin's, stealing Sir Monksalot from Marti, and of course verbally pounding Casey within an inch of her sanity. When they finally made it to the University of Toronto, Nora and George shooed Casey and Derek out of the Car. It didn't seem they could do it any faster.

" well, let's go to the administrative building," said Casey. As they made their way through the campus, they paid close attention to all the details. Derek paid attention to how many blondes there were in contrast to brunettes, and Casey admired the soft and yet defining architecture in all of the buildings.

After they had gotten to the administrative building, they were led to their dorms they would be staying at for three days, and then they went to tour classrooms and did the normal college routine. They saw the library, read material, and observed the ways the students interacted with each other(all of this was gladly done by Casey, but reluctantly by Derek.)

The three days finally came to an end. Nora came to pick them up. "George and the kids are at the hotel if you were wondering," she said. When she heard no reply, she looked in the backseat to see what had happened. She heard no fighting and that was never a good sign. When she turned around she saw Derek and Casey's heads together. They were completely out. she smiled to herself. If touring colleges made them so tired they couldn't stay awake to fight each other about something, then this would be a very pleasant car trip.


	2. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When they arrived at the hotel, Casey and Derek were awakened by a very excited Marti.

"Smerek,Smerek,Smerek! You're back!"

"yeah," he responded groggily. He felt like he was in a very awkward position. He suddenly realized his head had been resting on Casey's. he quickly jolted upward and away from her as his face turned red.

"Derek, what the he-" Casey stopped herself short when she saw Marti. She didn't want her to hear that kind of stuff, especially out of her mouth. "hi, Marti." She said. "Hi Casey! Guess where we're going next?"

"Where is that?" Casey asked. She really had no idea, so she was genuinely interested. Well, halfway interested. She had been having a peaceful sleep until Derek jolted awake so sleeping was in her best interest at the moment.

"we're going to New York City! Lizzie told me there's a giant toy store there with a Ferris wheel. Is that true?"

"yes, it is," Nora said coming up behind her. Casey smiled at her mother. It was good to be back with her dysfunctional family. She thought it was strange for her to be saying it, but she found it to be way too structured for her taste. It was good for the administration to be structures well, but the student life was way too serious.

" where's our next stop?" she asked her mom.

" Didn't Marti tell you? We're heading in the direction of NYU. Liz is going to see your dad our first day there. You'll see him our last day in New York. Derek can go with you as we pack up our stuff at the hotel. It will probably be easier if you go by taxi" Again, Casey couldn't help but smile in spite of herself. She was going to see her dad! Only downfall is that she had to go with Derek, which surprisingly to her, didn't feel so much as a downfall.

The car trip down to the states wasn't as insane and restless. Casey and Derek were completely out, and Lizzie and Edwin were engrossed in a game of uno. Marti was quietly playing with Sir Monksalot. When they got there, they went to the hotel first and dropped off the stuff. Then Derek and Casey took a taxi to NYU.

When they got there, they gawked in awe at the grandeur of NYU. It's delicate yet bold architecture, the hustle and bustle, the students, all of it. they were shown to the visitor's center by a kind college boy. When they walked in they were shown around. They would have to go back to the hotel at the end of the day, but they didn't mind. They took a tour, looked about, everything was amazing. In their eyes, everything was perfect.


	3. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Derek watched Casey as she slept soundly. He knew how light of a sleeper she was and if he made one wrong move she'd wake up and catch him sneaking out. He had heard of a college party going on at the beta fraternity house and had been invited by the host, who was incidentally the nice guy who had led he and Casey to the administrative office. When Casey heard about it she was completely against the subject, so Derek's only option was sneaking out. He silently opened the door and quietly walked out of the room. As the door closed behind him, he walked off towards the elevator. He stopped a couple of paces and thought he heard something like Casey calling his name. he shook his head. It must have been a figment of his imagination, or his conscience. He didn't understand it. what Casey said hadn't bothered him so much before. Well, there was one time with Lizzie's soccer coach, and maybe one time with her and Marti helping him with physics. He couldn't forget when he had trouble getting Sally and Casey helped him out. okay, maybe he always did listen to her subconsciously, but that had never bothered him before. He pushed the thought from his mind.

When he got to the elevator he heard it again. It sounded like Casey was right behind him. He turned around and must have jumped ten feet in the air. She _was _behind him.

" Casey what are you doing?" he whispered, " and why are you dressed in _that?_"

she was dressed in a denim mini skirt with a black and white striped top and black flats. It was not a Casey thing to do to look like she had come out of prison. _She does look good though,_ he thought to himself. Shaking the thought from his head he regained focus.

"Derek, why are you staring at me like that? Can't you ogle your eyes at someone else?" Could someone that smart be that dense?

" Who do recommend I look at in the deserted hallway at eleven o' clock at night?"

"It won't be abandoned much longer. This is the city that never sleeps. Didn't anyone tell you that?"

"Let's get back to the problem at the moment. Why are you dressed like that?"

"I'm going with you," she said. Derek let out a chuckle.

"No you're not," he said with a smile, " who put that wild idea into your head?"

"you did." He gaped at this comment. What had he said in the past twenty- four hours that had put such an idea in her head.

"you're always telling me I should live a little on the dangerous side, and I think you're right." He stared at her bug-eyed. He was right? Since when did Casey think he was right?

"Casey, do you feel alright?" he asked as he reached up to feel her forehead. She swatted him away.

"I'm fine. believe it or not, you're right. I need to take some risks. I'm only a teenager once. Might as well make the most of it."

"so you're coming with me?" he asked in disbelief. She nodded.

"and you're not going to rat me out?" she nodded again.

" okay, now that we've gone through the interrogations can we move our way downstairs?"

"okay then," he said. It was Casey's turn to gape in surprise. He usually would say something along the lines of ' you're kidding right? Like I'd be seen in public with you.' she didn't think on it too much. She really had to stop thinking on stuff a lot. It was one of her worst habits. It was always a good thing to think, but when you thought twice about something and ended up coming to a conclusion after thinking ten times, you knew you had a problem.

They went down the elevator and out the door. Casey hailed a cab and they headed to NYU. When they got to the fraternity house, Casey gawked at the amount of people. She noticed a beer keg in every corner except one and that was occupied by what seemed to be a bunch of girls were way too mature for this kind of atmosphere but were here anyways. She made her way over to them as Derek went to see a group of guys from the hockey team he had seen practicing earlier that day.

"hey," she said as she made her way towards what seemed to be the group of intellectuals who had been drug to this party by one of their cooler friends, "what's up?"

"not much," one girl said, "we're just at this party because our friend Ferrah is dating the host. why are you here? You don't seem like the kind of person who would hang out at this crowd."

"why would you say that?" Casey asked defensively. The girl must have sensed her defensive attitude because she backed up just a little.

"well, it's just you don't seem like the this kind of crowd and what I mean is you're not a dork who is drug here by their friend, you're not a drunk, you're not a buffoon who likes to spike people's drinks with tons of vodka to see them make fools of themselves, an you're not a slut. So why are you here?"

" I'm touring colleges, and my brother, well step-brother, no genetic link, thankfully, decided he wanted to go to this shindig, so I went along." Casey was well aware of how lame that sounded, but the girls didn't seem to care. She spent at least an hour talking to all of them. The girl who spoke to her at first was named Leah. She was here on scholarship and was there for theatre but her scholarship was academic. There were three others called Bertha, Cheyenne, an Francine. They were also into theatre an all of them were on an academic scholarship except Bertha who was there on an athletic scholarship for basketball. She was having a good time when out of the blue, Derek came up to her tripping over his own two feet.

"hheey!" he breathed in her face. She gasped. It smelled awful.

"Derek, have you been drinking?" she asked him seriously.

"nope. Only this ginger ale Matt gave me." He responded, a little slurred.

"who is matt?" she asked.

"That guy over there the football team."

_Oh shit!_ Casey thought to herself, _he's completely wasted!_ She excused herself from the girls she was talking to and found a corner of the fraternity house that wasn't occupied by anyone.

" what the heck happened to you?" she said, " do you have any idea of how stupid and idiotic it was for you to drink something at a college party? Please, don't tell me you didn't know they spiked all the drinks at these kinds of things."

"Wha- they spike ginger ale? Really?' he said dumbfounded. He leaned in closer as Casey backed up farther. She backed into the wall. She was trapped. He pressed his lips to hers and in two seconds she pushed him off of her.

" you are one insane drunk!" she yelled at him. He laughed obliviously as she helped him to the door. She quickly got e mail addresses from the girls she met so that she could ask them college based questions as soon as she got home if she had any.

When outside, she called a cab and they headed to the hotel. It was just her luck that somewhere in between the frat house and the hotel that Derek passed out on her lap.

When she got out of the cab, she carried him by his waist and by his shoulders and with a lot of effort and a little help from the bell boy, she got him into the elevator. She finally got him to the room completely out of breath. She took out the key card and slid it into the door hoping no one had noticed they were gone. She opened the door and found Edwin and Lizzie sitting on the bed, waiting for her.


	4. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Casey stood in the doorway, frozen stiff like a statue. Lizzie and Edwin looked at her, spotted Derek's limp body, and then looked at her again, wide eyed. They rushed towards her bombarding her with all kinds of questions:

"Is he dead?"

"What happened?"

"Did he get hit by a car?"

"Did someone attack him on the street?"

"Did he get in a fight?"

" How did you get him up here to the room?"

Casey groaned in annoyance. Her sister and step- brother were soon going to gain the titles of Mr. and Miss nosey.

"No, he's not dead. He's drunk. He passed out in the cab coming over here. As to how I got up here, the bell boy helped me through the door and I used something known as an elevator." Lizzie and Edwin got quiet and helped Casey get Derek to the bed. She usually reserved her sarcasm for Derek.

"She must be upset" Lizzie murmured to Edwin.

"Okay, you two won't tell anyone, will you? Not mom and dad and definitely don't let it slip into conversation around Marti."

"Okay" Edwin said, "but how did he get drunk? I mean I know how he did but he was with you right? You wouldn't have let him touch that stuff."

"I was talking to some friends I had made, and Derek was talking to some people he had met and someone spiked his drink."

"Oh, that makes sense,"

"Yeah, now Lizzie, get the trash can over here. If he wakes up to throw up in the middle of the night he won't have to go to the bathroom. There is no way he can miss. Edwin, get a cold towel. I'm going to wash his face off a little bit. Casey sat on the edge of the bed looking down at her step-brother. She brushed his hair away from his eyes. Edwin handed her the towel and she washed off his face a little bit. He stirred, but didn't wake up. It was still a good sign that he wasn't completely unaware of his surroundings.

"Thanks Liz, Ed. You don't have to worry about him now. He'll feel better in a couple days." Said Casey. They went to the restroom to put up the rag and probably start talking about another sleuthing opportunity. She gently stroked Derek's hair. She chuckled to herself.

"Oh Derek," she said, " the trouble you get into. You're lucky tomorrow's Saturday." With that, she got up from the bed and got changed into pajamas after shooing Lizzie and Edwin out of the bathroom. When she came out, Derek had curled into a ball. She smiled subconsciously as she covered him with a blanket lying on a nearby chair.

"Get ready for the morning," she whispered, "it's going to be rough."


	5. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Derek woke up in the morning with a full- blown headache and a churning stomach. He rushed to the bathroom. He knew he was going to puke any minute now.

When he came out he felt a little better, but still just wanted to lie down and forget he ever got up.

"good morning!" Casey said from the doorway, " had a nice sleep?"

His head throbbed at her words. He groaned.

"not so loud," he said, "there's no need to yell." Casey laughed, making his head hurt even worse. He plopped down on the bed covering his head with a pillow to drown out the noise.

" I brought you some coffee," she said, "thought you would need it this morning."

She held the cup out and waited as Derek slowly sat up. He took it and had a couple of sips. He was feeling better. Little by little, but he was feeling better. After a while of sitting in awkward silence Derek looked up from his coffee and looked at Casey. Today she was dressed in a par of jeans and tight fitting shirt that said think green. She looked good. _Wait!_ He thought to himself,_ why do I care?_ He shook his head as if he were trying to shake the thought from his head. It just made his head feel like it was going to fall off. he put his hand to his head as if he was trying to keep it from falling off and rolling out the door. He waited for his head to stop spinning and slowly scooted over on the bed to make room for Casey. He patted the spot next to him. She came over and stood there, utterly confused.

"you _want_ me to sit next to you?" she said bewildered. He nodded. This was not normal Derek behavior. Shoving her off the bed maybe, but making room for her, not likely to happen. He stared at her, waiting for her to sit down. She felt her face growing hot. She quickly averted her eyes. She went and sat next to him. He turned to face her.

"Why did you think I needed coffee this morning?" Casey wasted no time in coming with a straight answer. "you were drunk last night." Derek looked at her waiting for her to start laughing. This had to be a joke. When she didn't say 'gotcha!' his eyes started growing wide. She was telling the truth.

"I-I-I was drunk?" he stuttered, "I couldn't have been drunk. I drank ginger ale! Ginger ale! Last time I checked it didn't have alcohol! How could I have been drunk? Give me one reason you would believe I was drunk."

"I'll give you at least three," Casey said simply, " You probably can't remember much of what happened at that party we went to last night, my aching back, leg and arm muscles are proof enough that you passed out and I had to carry you here, your headache is proof enough that you are hung over, and you kissed me." Derek sputtered and choked on his coffee.

"what the hell?! There is no way I kissed you!" he kissed Casey? what was he thinking? He couldn't go around kissing random people, and that must have been a random selection. He must have been drunk! There as no way he would have kissed her when he was sober and she didn't look like she was lying.

"so how did it happen?" he asked groggily.

"well like most kisses do Derek. You lean in and-"

"I know how that happened," he said, " I meant how did I end up drunk?"

"Oh. Someone spiked your drink," she said, "I think it was Matt, whoever that is."

"great," Derek muttered.

"it's better than some of the scenarios Liz and Edwin came up with," she said. Derek's eyes bugged out again.

"Lizzie and Edwin know about this?!"

"Yeah but they're the only ones.Marti didn't wake up at all, and I made them swear not to mention it around anyone so there's no way Mom and Dad will find out."

"Wait," he said, " How is it that you're the only one here? Wouldn't I have been woken up early so that we could see New York?"

"Ah, that. Mom and Dad both took turns trying to wake you up so that you could come with us to see the sights, but we had seen all of those last night, and there is nothing more beautiful than New York at night. that's when it's at it's best and-"

"Casey," Derek cut in, " you're rambling. Get to the point."

"okay. Anyways, I cut in before they woke you that you probably needed your sleep. They stared at me completely bewildered. I mean I'm usually the one who loves to push you out of bed with no mercy. They were getting suspicious, so I told them that I had woken up in the middle of the night to find you stumbling all over the place looking for an aspirin. You said you had a really bad headache. When I helped you find one, you got lightheaded and had to sit down. I said it had been really bad and probably from lack of sleep because in Toronto the people we watched worked meticulously from early morning to late at night. Mom was about to stay with you and I said I would since I had already seen the sights. I thought they should have the opportunity."

" You lied?" he said, dumbfounded, " You lied and they believed you?" Casey shifted from side to side.

"Only part of it."

"I'm impressed," he said as he gave her a smile. She couldn't help but smile back. It was very short lived.

"Only thing now is I haven't done the things I've wanted to do in New York. I haven't gone to the top of the empire state building to see the best view of New York, I haven't gone to F A O Schwartz," Casey gave him a look. "You want to go to a toy store?"

" Not for me," he said, " for Marti." Casey looked at him again.

" You actually want to do something for someone other than yourself?"

"I have my moments of being human," he said sarcastically.

"Well, I've been to New York enough times to know where everything is and what the best places to go are," said Casey, "I also happen to know where the family is deciding to go so we just have to avoid all of those places. They're starting the morning at Central Park, then they're going to eat lunch. After that they said they were going to go to F A O Schwartz and then they were going to catch a cab to town square and hit the giant Toys R Us there. Then they were going to eat dinner and take a night bus tour. That's perfect!"

"How is that perfect?" Derek asked her, thoroughly confused.

" They left about an hour ago. We can do the stuff you wanted to do and then some. Hurry up and get dressed. We've got places to go. Come on!" she hopped off the bed and drug him up. He went and got dressed as fast as his throbbing head would allow. When he was done she drug him with her to the elevator. When they got downstairs she took him to the corner and shoved him inside the starbucks. She ordered him another cup of coffee and she got a latte for herself. They walked outside and she shoved him into a store a couple of blocks down.

"what are we doing in here?"

"Eating a bagel. It's one of the six things you must have in New York." She ordered two bagels and found them a seat. Derek's head was spinning again. He took another sip of his coffee. The city really was the city that never slept. Everything was always hustle and bustle. If he wasn't hung over, he would probably enjoy it.

" okay, I'm telling you now to forget about going to the top of the empire state building." Derek was surprised. Why was she saying that? It wasn't something she would normally do, be blunt.

"why?"

" looking over New York is great, but I think that the view from the top of the metropolitan museum of art is better. It doesn't tower over everything else which I think gives you a better view."

"okay, whatever you say." This time it was Casey's turn to be surprised. That wasn't something Derek usually did, take her word for it. She watched him quietly drink his coffee. She felt herself slipping into some kind of trance where she felt she could sit there staring at him all day if she really wanted to. She snapped out of it. she couldn't be letting down her guard, not now.

"here's what 's going to happen: it's the morning. I figure we go ahead and go to the Met and go to the top floor to look at the view. There's no way we'll run into anyone there. I mean who with kids would even think of going to a place as boring as that? Besides me." She quickly added as Derek opened his mouth to speak. She went on.

"after that, we can probably be safe to go to FAO Schwartz and then go eat a pretzel, another one of the six things you must eat in New York. After that we'll head to central park and walk around a bit. Then we can walk down some streets. I'll show you where John Lennon got shot, where Katherine Hepburn lived, where Catherine Zeta-Jones lives, and where Donald trump lives. After that we'll eat a hot dog off the street, another one of the six things to have in New York. Then we'll catch a cab and head to Brooklyn and hang out there for a while. we'll then head back to Manhattan and go down to little Italy and eat a pizza, another thing to have in New York, as well as the fifth thing to have in New York, a cheesecake. Then we'll go to time square. One hot dog won't be filling enough so we may have to go to Carnegie deli which is more than enough food, but hey, it's vacation and they have the best pastrami in North America. Okay, you think you can remember all of that?"

Derek stared at her blankly.

"I'll take it as a no," she said. She got up.

"Come on, " she said as she tugged on his arm, " We've got to go now if we're going to make it to everything." Derek slowly got up and Drank more coffee. He was feeling a lot better. Now he could walk straight without being dizzy. It was great improvement. They walked out of the deli they had been in and Casey walked out and stood in the street. Derek quickly pulled her back by the arm.

"Are you insane?!" he said, " none of those cars are going to stop for you so that you can cross the street!" Casey gently took his hand off of her arm.

"I'm just calling a cab. Relax." She went back to standing in the street and had a cab waiting seconds later. They got in.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art please," she told the driver, and they were off.


	6. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Come on Derek! I swear you are so slow," Said Casey. he had been staring a everything in sight. She never thought he would be this interested in art. It was either that or the hangover taking it's final effect. Was he acting himself on this trip or was he going insane? He didn't like going to museums.

" Wow," he said, "how do they fit a whole boat thing on the ceiling like that? You know pre Columbian art isn't really my thing, but that is impressive, especially the engineers who worked to get that thing up there." It was Casey's turn to stare at him blankly. He was actually kind of smart.

"You actually know what pre Columbian art is?" she blurted out. He looked her in the face calmly and somehow was not surprised by her outburst. "yes," he replied calmly.

Casey closed her mouth and broke out of her trance.

"let's go," she said, taking his arm. She drug him to the elevator and went up to the roof with him. When the elevator came to a halt she covered Derek's eyes. He put his hands up to hers, trying to move them.

"Casey, I know you like to pick on me just as much as I like to pick on you, but I've already suffered from a hangover today. Must I endure another piece of torture?" He felt her move closer to him. "it's not torture. I just want to let you brace yourself for a gorgeous view." She said softly in his ear.

"Okay, consider me braced," he responded. She took her hands from his eyes and they walked out of the elevator. She paused to look at some art, but Derek saw the New York skyline and walked, as if hypnotized, to the balcony. A slight morning breeze brushed his face. He stood there, in complete awe of the sight in front of him. He looked from side to side. He could see what seemed to be all of New York in just one glance. it was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. It was breath taking. He felt Casey slip her hand into his. He found it strange that he found this gesture absolutely normal. He returned the grip gently. They stood in silence soaking in the sight as if they were never going to come back. They barely even noticed when more and more people were coming onto the balcony. It seemed like it was a senior group from the few people they had taken a glance at. They abruptly turned around to face an elderly lady who had tapped them on the shoulder.

"excuse me. Sorry for interrupting, but I just think you two are the cutest young couple I've ever seen. You are probably high school kids? Am I right? Anyways, I just couldn't help but notice how slight your affection was and how you didn't want to show the world what you would be doing in your room. I think that should be respected..."

she went on and on. Derek was starting to get apprehensive.he felt himself starting to blush. he turned to glance at Casey and saw she was doing the same. poor lady. she didn't know they were step-siblings. this would be difficult to explain. even he could explain why they were holding hands, or why he enjoyed it. He felt safe around Casey for some reason. After all, she was the only one he knew in Manhattan who knew how to get around Manhattan. Casey tried to let go of his hand. he held on tighter. She took the hint and just moved closer to hide the fact they were still holding each other's hand so that she could explain to the lady clearly.

"Um, excuse me miss, but we're not... we're not dating. We're not a couple."

"oh, you two must be friends!"

"well not exact- yeah we're friends," Casey said, obviously giving up on the elderly woman. Derek couldn't help but snicker under his breath. He could see where she had gotten this idea, but the lady was taking it a little far for a grand lecture on how wonderful they were. If only she knew what Derek and Casey were like back home. Then she would regret ever saying they were friendly towards each other.

"... and I just think it's great that you two would not be afraid to let people know you care for your friend. But I tell you what. He seems like a nice young man. You should think about it." Casey felt her face getting hot with embarrassment. This woman just didn't get it, of course she herself didn't really understand the whole situation at that moment either. Why would Derek want to hold her hand? Why did she want to hold his? She knew why. It was an impulse. She had seen him looking over the city and he was so peaceful and serene. She had never seen him like that before. She wanted to share his serenity. Noticing the woman hadn't gone away, she smiled and nodded her head as Derek thanked her for the compliment. She left them to look at some of the sculptures that were out. Casey warily cleared her throat.

"Ready to move on?" she asked him.

"sure" he responded. They were off to leave until Casey stopped short.

"wait! We haven't taken any pictures!" she took out her camera and took pictures of the skyline and then looked at Derek expectantly. He walked a couple of paces forward hesitantly.

"what are you waiting for? You need to be in a picture."

"if you insist," he said, frowning in confusion. They had started being nice to each other. there was something wrong with that. He went and stood in front of New York City and Casey took a couple of pictures. The same elderly woman insisted to have Casey in the picture with Derek a couple of times too, and Derek then insisted that she deserved to have a picture of just herself with New York resting behind her. the way he saw it, if he had to do it, so did she.

They were finally finished and went down to where the streets were. They walked back a ways and found the street Casey was looking for. She showed Derek all the places that the celebrities lived and he was impressed as to how much she knew about the city. For a while, they slipped into one of the many coffee shops in the city to just sit down and rest their feet for a while.

When they were settled, Derek started to speak.

"Okay Case, not that I don't mind, I am actually very surprised that I didn't mind. It's actually very nice. Well, I don't know about very nice. That sounds a little weird-,"

"Derek," Casey cut him off, "now you're rambling. Get to the point."

"Okay," he continued, " well. out of curiosity I'd like to know one thing. Why did you all of a sudden decide to be nice to me today? I treat you like crap, you treat me like crap, and now you're being nice. Why the sudden change?"


	7. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Casey shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't really know why. She probably did somewhere deep down inside of her, but she didn't feel like digging that deep. No, she was scared to dig that deep.

"You had a hangover today. And you looked so miserable this morning, I just, I don't know. I wanted to help you out." she looked down at the floor. Derek's face softened. Casey bolted upright.

"and you know you've been really nice to me, too. Why have you been nice to me mister Venturi? What's your reasoning?" He should have expected that. She was smart. Not much could get past her, and though he should have expected the question, he was still taken aback. He got defensive.

"hey, well you've been real nice to me I thought I'd be polite and return the favor."

"oh, so why are you all of a sudden deciding to be polite?" Casey said with an edge to her voice, "because I don't remember you _ever_ being polite."

"well I'm sorry my manners didn't match up to your high maintenance standards princess," he said snidely.

" Well, you're a lot more like yourself than this morning tough guy," Casey said with a hint of sarcasm on the 'tough guy' part.

" I'm seeing you've become your annoying self as well," Derek said.

"well aren't you happy to torture me again!" Casey said, her every word dripping with sarcasm.

"Gladly," he said coldly, " I'm just sad you're not going out with Max anymore. it's a shame he wouldn't be able to witness what I'm about to say," he said, an evil grin making it's way onto his face.

"oh really? And what would that be?"

" That you had a thing for Noel when you and Max were still dating. It would get him steamed to know that was more than just a stage kiss. Just think, he would never look at you the same again," He smirked. He knew that was a touchy subject for her. It didn't take much to rock her out of the rhythm with a comment like that. To his surprise and utter disgust, she didn't miss a beat.

"oh, what a stab in the heart!" she said, her sarcasm getting thicker, " then I would just have to tell Sally your hangover scenario so she can spread it through Canada for me speaking of self- images. She found some intelligence in you, but now after what had happened last night, her image of you is going to be flushed down the toilet!" She ended with a glare. She knew she hit a nerve. Which nerve she hit was what was surprising to her. She glanced at Derek. His eyes bored into hers. She felt like she had to stay strong. She slowly started to regret what she had said as she saw a wrath of fire in his eyes, slowly replaced by pain she was sure he didn't know was exposed. He broke off his gaze and got up from the table.

"I'm tired of this," he muttered. He sauntered out the door and quickly dissolved into the crowd of hustle and bustle. Casey was right after him. She was running faster than she thought she ever had in years, especially after Derek, whom she never thought would be someone worth chasing after.

"Derek! Derek!" she yelled. He didn't stop. She picked up speed. She wasn't letting him go. She finally caught up to him. He tried to walk off, but she grabbed a hold of his arm. He tried to pull away, but it only forced her to hold on tighter.

"Derek, come on!" she said frantically. He stopped struggling. Something about her desperate tone got him to think that she may have something to say that was worth his time. He looked down at her expectantly.

"Derek, I'm sorry. I know that's a touchy subject. I shouldn't have done that. I know she was the only one you really ever loved." She hesitated for a second to see his jaw set. She continued anyways.

"I guess I just wanted my defenses to go up once you started getting personal. I took it too far." He looked down at his feet. What could he say to a perfect apology to that? And without note cards? That was a big step for Casey not to have something pre-written.

"please say something," she said softly. Her grip loosened and let her hands slide down and hold his hand in both of hers. His hand tingled at her touch. He wrapped his fingers into hers and gave her hand a reassuring grip. He looked at her and gave her a weak smile.

"I guess I was a little on the defensive side, wasn't I?" She smiled.

"Just a touch," she said.

"ready to go to FAO Schwartz? Oh, and by the way, I'm kind of in the mood for that pretzel you were talking about this morning,' he said. They weaved through the web of people on the street towards The Plaza and crossed the street to FAO Schwartz. Derek and Casey looked in amazement at how many huge stuffed animals there were scattered throughout the store. All too expensive to get Marti, but all quite incredible. Casey helped Derek find something for Marti. They ended up choosing a rainbow unicorn as a friend for sir Monksalot.

"how do you know she didn't already get it?" Derek asked apprehensively.

"she was set on getting a giraffe for her snake to be friends with. Everyone tried to get her to think of getting something else, but she wouldn't hear of it. anyways, I think a unicorn is one of the few stuffed animals she _doesn't _have." At this Derek chuckled at the truth of her statement. They heard a piano being played down a certain direction. Then they saw it. it was the fancy "big" piano from the movie Tom Hanks was in when he played on it. they had just finished their demonstration and were taking people up for challenges.

"How's your head?" Casey asked.

"fine," he replied.

"how about your footwork?"

" really good. Coach makes us do exercises with footwork all the time to use on the ice. It's my secret weapon. why do you ask?" he said puzzled. A sly smile crossed Casey's lips. Somehow right away he knew what she was thinking.

"okay, you know playing a piano with your feet isn't the same as playing with your hands. You have to quickly jump across from key to key."

"They're the same keys as a regular piano," she said.

"no way!"

"you know _Fur Elise_ right?"

"I learned the left hand, but never the right."

"perfect! I know only the right hand! this could work. I'll dance across for the right hand and you glide across for the left!"

"I wouldn't say I glide," he began saying. Casey cut him short.

"please?!" she pouted playfully. He looked at her. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"fine," he said. She squealed and jumped up and down like so many girls do.

She drug him with her to the front after a little kid had just finished playing _twinkle twinkle little star_.

"Excuse me, we'd like to try!" she said to the lady by the rope.

"ah!" she said over the mike to all the kids and their parents watching, "looks like we have a boyfriend and girlfriend coming up to play a song!" the crowd started to whistle. Casey's face turned bright red. It was Derek's turn to calmly explain they were 'just friends' which he decided would be an easier explanation than stepsiblings.

"Oh, you're just friends?" the crowd awed in disappointment.

"maybe one day…" she said, causing Derek to blush as the audience cheered.

"can we just go play our song?" Derek asked in the most calm way he could muster.

"sure hon. go right ahead." Casey and Derek stepped to the front in front of the huge keyboard. He leaned in and whispered what key they would play in to Casey. she nodded her head and gulped down what seemed to be her nerves. He felt himself getting sick. He pushed the thought from his head. it was just a piano. Casey started out with the right hand, or foot in this case, and started her part. In no time, Derek came in on his queue. It was miraculous. They were in perfect harmony and in smooth, flowing synchronization. They didn't miss a note, which was a miracle all in itself. The audience was shushed by their talent. Little kids were whispering with excitement, and the woman was thunderstruck as she sat there supervising them, making sure they wouldn't hurt themselves as the sashayed down the keys. When they were done, they laughed joined hands and took a bow. The whole room erupted with applause. They smiled and went on to leave when they saw someone in the doorway, or some ones. Standing in the doorway were Miss and Mister Nosey, or as most people knew them, Edwin and Lizzie.


	8. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Shit!" they whispered under their breath. They quickly ran through the crowds to hide behind the giant Lego-made Chewbacca.

"I thought you said they weren't coming until after the morning!"

" I guess they decided on a change of plans. Maybe Marti couldn't wait to get her giraffe."

"well that's great!" he said with sarcastic panic.

"why don't we just come out of hiding and be honest?"

"Listen Miss goody-toe-shoes. We are hiding behind a giant Lego-made Chewbacca in a toy store filled with happy excited screaming children. I think honesty is not an option at this point!"

"Well we can't just sit here till they leave!"

"and why the hell not?!"

"because they're coming this way!" She grabbed his arm and ducked behind a shelf. She kept a wary eye on the two junior sleuths as they moved all the way around the shelves. Keeping her grip on Derek's arm, she inched her way around the shelves. She took a run for it and went down a level. They started running towards the exit. They came to a skidding halt. In the doorway was George and Nora trying to convince Marti to get a smaller giraffe because the one on the top floor was too big and too expensive. They started running in the other direction.

"Quick! Basement level!" Casey said. They ran downstairs only to run into two of the last people they wanted to run into.

"what do you think you're doing?" said Lizzie, arms crossed.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Derek said heatedly, "we're getting the hell out of here before we get caught!"

"isn't it a little late for that bro?" Edwin said mimicking Lizzie's stance.

"How many poundings do I have to give you for you to help us out of here without Mom and Dad seeing us?" Derek said through gritted teeth.

"a million" replied Edwin.

"My pleasure," said a glaring Derek as he rolled up his sleeves. He was just about to lunge for Edwin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. A chill ran up his spine. He must have gotten caught. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Casey.

"Hold up Derek," she said, "let's try a compromise. What do you want?" she asked Lizzie.

" We" she corrected, " would like control of the remote for half the week every week, I would like access to your make-up tree times a month, and Edwin would like a chance to use Derek's stereo system three times a month as well." Derek went wide-eyed and his mouth was gaping open. He did not like this one bit. Edwin was getting nowhere near his stereo system and why would he have to give up the remote? He was just about to protest when Casey shushed him.

" Once a month on the make-up, the lesser half of the week, and the stereo can only be used once every two months since both of you already have a radio and CD player in your own room." Said Casey with a tone that sent chills down his back. She said it with such an authoritative voice. He could tell she meant business.

"That's my final offer," she said, making her voice go even harsher and solid. He could tell she meant it. she was standing firm. She wasn't going to back down. He could tell that it was not an option to her. He knew Edwin and Lizzie had the leverage, but her voice of authority made everyone believe otherwise. She sounded so seductive, so smooth, so sexy. He couldn't believe it. Why? What was he doing? He couldn't think of his stepsister like that, and yet he really wanted to. Lizzie's voice brought him back to reality.

"deal" she said, taking Casey's hand. they shook on it.

"so all we need you to do is get Mom, George, and Marti to go upstairs to see the big piano. We'll count to forty until we move out to the front doors. That good?" Casey made sure it was all clear, even though I didn't see what was so difficult about it.

"Got it," said Edwin. They were off. Casey drug Derek behind yet another shelf and had him crouch down beside her so that they were completely hidden. He couldn't help but blush at the proximity of her to him. He pushed the thought from his head and was fully concentrated on counting to forty. When they had counted enough, they made a dash for the door and ran out past the plaza and into central park. They laughed in relief and went skipping( in Derek's case 'walking with a spring in his step') down one of the many pathways. Derek suddenly stopped.

"Hey," he said "you know what?"

"what?" asked Casey turning to face him.

" I still want that pretzel," he said with the smirk she knew so well.


	9. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Fine!" she said in feigned exasperation. She giggled in spite of herself. She was shocked at her actions. Since when did she giggle around Derek, about something Derek said? She cleared her throat unnecessarily.

"okay, let's go," she said.

They walked in silence until they got to the street corner. Derek got a pretzel and decided to split it with Casey. Of course, Casey refused.

"No! I've had a pretzel in New York, you haven't!"

"so what? have another one!"

"I can't! I have to watch my weight."

"Oh whatever! Watch your weight my arse. You don't need to watch your weight!"

" Since when did you start saying arse?"

"Since I heard the word in English class when reading Angela's Ashes."

"You pay attention in English class?"

"Can we get back to the pretzel? I can't eat the whole thing! We're going to the street corner for a hot dog then going to Carnegie Deli, remember? For Lunch?"

"_I_ can remember. I didn't think _you _could remember." She said impishly.

"Hey," He said, pointing an equally playful finger at her, "I'm not that bad, okay." They doubled over with peals of laughter.

"Fine, you're not that bad, and I guess half a pretzel won't kill me," she submitted.

"That's more like it," he said with a smile as he split the pretzel in half. Casey couldn't help to be a little puzzled. Since when did Derek treat her nicely? They walked aimlessly and happily through Central Park, just talking and laughing. They ate their hot dogs off the corner and sat down to enjoy the wonderful weather and the scenic view of the boat house and the lake in front of them.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Casey mused.

"Yeah, I guess so," Derek responded.

"what's more beautiful than New York City?"

"Oh, a lot of things," Derek responded vaguely, yet taking a glance at Casey little longer than what was considered safe. She turned to look at him and their eyes locked. They melted into their own world, drifting to a place all their own. There was something about Casey MacDonald that intrigued Derek Venturi. She wasn't the normal girl, and by normal he meant she didn't fawn over him like the rest of them did. She stood up to him at times too, which could get on his nerves, but it was what made him want to know her all the more.

Casey dug into his eyes with her own stare. Derek Venturi was your typical jock, and yet right when she thought she had him figured out, he shows her part of him that she never even knew existed, someone completely different from the guy she knew, and her whole perspective of him changes in a blink of an eye. A duck quacking had broken their trance. They looked up, down, towards the water, everywhere except at each other, too embarrassed to say anything.

It was Derek who spoke first.

"Um... are you still hungry?" he asked softly. Casey nodded. "let's go."

"Where?" she asked puzzled. Derek tossed his head back in semi- exasperation, semi- amusement. He turns to her with a smirk on his face.

"Carnegie Deli?" he said, eyebrows raised.

"right," Casey said, getting up and coming back down to earth, "yeah, let's go."

"you know, I'm really starting to wonder who had the hangover this morning," he chuckled. They made their way out of Central Park and down the street to Carnegie Deli. They ordered a Pastrami sandwich, and discussed how odd it was for them to keep pickles on the table as any other place would normally do with bread. The Sandwich was huge, bigger than Derek's head. The only way to eat it was to split it.

It was delicious. Casey hadn't been joking when she said they had the best pastrami in the world. It was absolutely mouth watering. They paid, and got up to leave when a little girl tugged on Derek's coat.

"Hi!" she said shyly, but with a kind of curiosity and excitement glinting in her eye.

"Hi," Derek said kindly, looking around for the girl's parents being utterly confused. Casey smiled in one of her many trances. It was like watching Derek with Marti, one of her favorite things to do at home. Wait, did she just admit that?

"You two are the couple that played on the big piano at the toy store," she said.

Derek laughed. He found it amusing how word got around in such a huge city.

"yes we are," he said. Casey had broken out of her trance. Did he just admit they were a couple? The same thing seemed to register into Derek's head as to what he said.

"I mean, we're friends," he corrected himself quickly.

"Oh, sorry," said the girl.

"it's okay, it happens a lot," he said quietly.

"But you'd like it to be more, right?" she asked.

"Um..." Derek said, not exactly sure what to say to that comment.

"I was just coming over here to ask if you two would sign this picture I took. My grandpa is the owner here, and he could put it on his wall with all the movie stars. I told him all about it" At this Casey and Derek couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sure," Casey said, coming to stand next to Derek. She took the picture from the girl and the marker. She took a look at the picture. It had Derek and her sashaying down the piano. She smiled. It was a marvelous picture. She liked it. She and Derek signed the picture and watched the little girl go and hang it on the wall. They paid the check and took a cab to walk the streets of Brooklyn.


	10. Chapter 12

**AN: I am soooooo sorry i haven't been able to update in such a long time! i've been going all over the map here! i've had about seven story ideas pop inot my head just this week and i haven't really been able to focus on anything. plus, midterms aer killer! but, hopefully this is the awaited chapter and i hope it was worth the wait! pleae read and review! i fear i may be a little rusty on the writng skills.**

Chapter 12

It was a tad bit quieter in Brooklyn than in Manhattan. They liked just walking around the streets and looking at all the activity going on around them. They found a park and walked around a bit. Then they took a cab back to the city asking to head to little Italy. There they shared a pizza and a cheesecake, the two other things they had to have when going to New York. They also both had water, one of the other things they had to have when going to New York. The Cheesecake was huge, but they somehow finished it by splitting it between them. It seemed like it was getting close to dark, so they decided to go back towards town square to their hotel. When Casey proposed this idea, Derek looked at her like she was crazy.

"what if we walk in and everyone has already gotten there?"

"I don't care! I'll come up with a lie like I did this morning," she said. Derek raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?" she said, a little uncomfortable at the way he was looking at her.

"First sneaking out to go to a party, a college party at that, then lying your butt off to cover up the hangover that I had this morning, and now you're willing to tell another lie? Since when were you so reckless Miss MacDonald?"

"Oh tush," she said waving the topic away with her hand, "let's go."

"Well, I guess you haven't gotten so reckless to cuss yet," he muttered under his breath with a smirk. She glared at him. "Cut it out jackass," she said glaring but with a smile playing across her face all the same.

"There we go. You're getting there," he said smiling. She grabbed his hand and hailed a cab.

They walked into the hotel lobby and ran into the elevator right before it closed. They went to their room and quietly opened the door. To their greatest fortune no one was there. They walked in relieved. Derek flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes, but he could not keep them closed. He opened his eyes to see what the whole racket Casey was making was for. He watched her dash about the room going this way and that, a smirk playing across his face.

"What?" she said indignantly when she caught him watching her.

"You're still same old Casey, even when reckless," he said, still smirking.

"Well Mr. All- knowing that just shows how little you know," she said.

"Really?" he said, his smile widening.

"Really," Casey responded, "this is your suit." She tossed it to him.

"Tossing nicely ironed clothes? Are you sure you're Casey MacDonald?" Derek said keeping his smirk plastered on his face.

"Yes Derek Venturi, I am," she said playfully, "now hurry up."

"Alright alright," He went to the restroom to get changed. When he came out, Casey was rushing around again. When she saw Derek come out she beamed.

"Very nice!" she said as Derek took a turn. "I've got to get ready now if we're going to make it on time."

"Make it where?" Derek asked.

"You'll see," she said as she dashed into the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bed staring blankly at the wall waiting for her to hurry up with what ever she was doing. He heard the bathroom door open.

"So, what do you think?" said an excited Casey. Derek looked up to find Casey in a striking red dress that went to about her knee. It had black embroidery and bead work along the collar, waist, and hem of the dress. Her hair was down and resting on her shoulders shaping her face perfectly. She wore the black necklace Derek had given her for Christmas that past year. He remembered Sally helping him pick it out. He expected the thought of Sally to bring a twinge of pain to him, but to his surprise it didn't. All he could really think of was how beautiful Casey looked.

"Well?" she said, bringing him back to reality long enough to answer.

"You look," he paused and cleared his throat, "Stunning."

"Thanks," she said blushing, "you look quite handsome yourself." She said looking at her black shoes. She collected herself.

"ready to go?" she asked.

"Right," he said, recovering himself, "if I knew where we were going."

"let's get out the door, then I'll tell you," she said smiling at him with what seemed to be softness. He smiled back with the same kind of smile, but neither of them really knew why they did, or why it felt so natural.


	11. Chapter 13

**AN: aaaaaand here's the next chapter! some intensity, some hair-pulling on the reader's side, and some "Jimminy Crickets" are making their way into the story if you get my drift.**

Chapter 13

" where are we going?" Derek asked again when they were out in the hallway.

"Do you remember that movie RENT that you watched with me and you absolutely loved it even though it was a musical?"

"Uh, correction; yes, I did love it. I loved the dedication Mark the photographer/filmer put into his work even if he was too involved in it he was proven genius, but that was an unconventional musical. It was modern music and not happy go wacky stuff." Casey giggled at Derek's word choice, but he ignored it. he could be geeky and he knew it.

"It's a Broadway play that's leaving Broadway September 7th, and I got us tickets," she said holding up two tickets in all their glory. Derek's eyes got really wide and his mouth was gaping open.

"Oh my God! Are you freaking serious?!" he exclaimed. Casey beamed. Somehow she knew he liked it more than he let on. "How did you get Dad and Nora to say yes?"

"Well, I just told them that Marti, Edwin and Lizzie would probably enjoy the night tour more than us and that we could go somewhere I knew we would enjoy a lot more."

"That's amazing!" he said. He couldn't help himself. It was an amazing production, edgy, modern, raw, everything a production should be. He gave Casey a bear hug and lifted her into the air spinning her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck for security and laughed. He stopped spinning and slowly put her down, but didn't let her go. She looked up at him and the world seemed to stop turning. They were frozen in the middle of the deserted hallway. He took a step closer to her. She stood still. He leaned forward a bit. _Move, _Casey thought to herself, _You can't do this. Mom and George would freak. Move! You can't! _but she didn't. she stayed there, her feet rooted to the ground.

.....................

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Derek stopped short. He wasn't going to let himself get carried away. He and Casey were getting along. He didn't know it could happen so fast, but it was. it was some kind of weird, other dimensional kind of happening that he could only explain as Hollywood, but he liked it the way it was now. He couldn't ruin it. They stood there as if frozen. _You can't do it, _he thought to himself, _she's your step sister and it would just be awkward if it didn't work out. What about Marti? What would she think? How would she understand that? What about Edwin and Lizzie? What about the pressure? What about Casey? It would effect her probably the most. She'd regret it. You know she has a conscience that works on overdrive and even if she has the slightest bit of affection towards you, you're her step brother. She would regret it no doubt. Be responsible for once and don't try anything. _It stung for him to think like that, but he knew he was right. He dropped his hands down by his sides and cleared his throat.

"Ready to go?" he asked softly. She dropped her arms from his neck to her sides hastily.

"Yeah," she said, "Lets go." she looked at her feet, not paying attention to her surroundings. They silently walked into the elevator. It seemed like there couldn't be anymore people jammed into the elevator, but they were wrong. _Great, claustrophobia is taking a toll,_ they thought. Derek got squished into a corner and Casey against him and the wall. As the door closed, Casey felt the little box of a room shrinking. Instinctively she reached for his hand and gave it a tight grip. To him it was like she was saying "promise me you'll stay with me no matter what happens."

It could be taken in two ways, but the way he wanted to think of it he didn't allow himself to think. He just gently and reassuringly returned her grip. She relaxed and he turned his face away.

Casey looked at him, soaked in every detail of him just like he had soaked in the view of New York. She looked along his jaw line, up to his hair line, the delicate curve of his lips, the detailed angle of his nose, the shape of his eyes, his brown pools that reflected his fears, his joys, his depression, his pain. She drank in his expression. There was something odd about it. there was uneasiness, obviously because of the small space he was in, but also some kind of reserved pain. He glanced at her and she quickly turned away so that he wouldn't see the longing she knew her eyes betrayed. She didn't know what it was about Derek Venturi, but she wanted to be with him. She didn't know why. She usually spent most of her time avoiding him at all costs, but then again, maybe the whole time she was avoiding him it was because she subconsciously had always known one day with him would make her act like this; ridiculous. It was the most ridiculous way she had ever felt. She told herself over and over again as the elevator made it's way slowly down that he was her step brother, she his step sister, he didn't think of her like that and it was something she just had to accept so she could move on. She told herself that all the way down, hoping she would feel different once they reached the ground floor, but her feelings betrayed her. They apparently had a mind of their own.

The elevator stopped at the first floor and they ran out onto the sidewalk. They crossed the street and walked to the theatre. They went in and found their seats. They sat down and the show began.


	12. Chapter 14

AN: sorry it took so long to update!!! i'm really kicking on the story train though! i've got two otehr stories to be posted for Dasey! say yay! in the next three days i'll post the oneshot. hope you like it! and i hope this chapter makes you laugh! i'll post the next one tomorrow. don't forget to review! enjoy!

Chapter 14

The show was as they had imagined it. Amazing. There was no other word for it. It was the greatest thing Derek had ever seen. He was sad that it was going off Broadway. It didn't deserve to just be put aside like that. The Phantom of the Opera had lasted the longest out of the Broadway plays according to Casey, and he was convinced that RENT could outlast it if only those in power of whether it ran or not would give it a chance.

"Chill out Derek," Casey said, amused he was getting so passionate about the subject.

"I mean, it's brilliant. Why take it off Broadway?"

"Not enough money," said Casey simply.

"Well, that's a stupid reason." He deadpanned. She didn't like the reason either, but it took a lot for a production. If it didn't make enough money, the actors got less of a salary. And salaries were only high for silver screen actors unfortunately.

"It won't last I tell you," Derek went on, "RENT will make an amazing comeback and everyone will fall in love with it all over again and then I'll be able to tell the next generation I had seen it the first time it ran!" Casey laughed at his grandiose gestures. He smiled. He loved her laughter. It was like ringing bells, but not as obnoxious. It actually had a nice tone, almost like music.

"That is a possibility you know," Casey said. Derek looked up in surprise.

"It is?" he said dumbfounded.

"Sure," said Casey, "that's what happened to Chorus Line. They brought it back after stopping it's run about thirty or so years ago."

"Wow," Derek said in a hushed tone, "that's awesome."

"Derek, stop." Casey said abruptly. She put her hand to his chest and he felt his face flush.

"What?" he managed to ask.

"we're in the middle of town square," she said. Sure enough, cars were speeding back and forth on either die of them, but somehow they were on a little strip of sidewalk. He was in the middle of it all and it was amazing.

"Yeah, pretty cool. Why do we have to stop?" he asked confused.

"Look up," she said as she did so. Derek did the same. It was almost as breath taking as it was on top of the MET. The buildings had flashing signs on them and they rose up touching the sky. They seemed to surround him. He slowly spun in a circle, keeping his eyes on the little piece of the starless sky that was peeping out from the buildings. Though the buildings were firmly rooted to their ground, it seemed as if they were dancing around him as if in attempt to taunt him, yet all they did was amuse and awe him. He felt Casey pull him back to reality by nudging his side.

"Time to go back to the hotel," she said taking his hand. he smiled at her. She smiled back at how peaceful a bit of breath taking city could be to him. To most people it would be intimidating, but to Derek it seemed just the opposite. They made their way back to the hotel. They walked into the hotel and stopped dead. It didn't seem like they could take a break. There in the lobby were their parents. They were making their way towards the exit. Luckily they weren't paying attention. They took a dash for the couches that were in the lounge. Casey was on the look out for the parents. Derek on the other hand was scanning the lounge and looking at his surroundings. He saw there was a long table in the middle of the lounge and a group of teenagers in the corner that looked a bit bored. The bar tender was about in his twenties. He was behind the bar texting, probably his girlfriend, and not paying attention to what was going on. A grin broke across his face as an idea made it's way into his head.

"It's clear," Casey said. She took Derek's arm and tried to run but fell back when she noticed he was still standing there.

"They went on the night tour. I over heard them saying we probably went to the restaurant here in the hotel. This is our chance to sneak into the room." He waved her facts away.

"we have plenty of time to get there," he said, "Now take a long look at that long table." He looked at her with his mischievous smile.

"Remind you of anything?" he said.

"What? Are you suggesting…." She said, her eyes wide. Dancing on tables in a public place and singing songs from Rent was not exactly something she would normally do.

"Come on Casey," he said, "Live life like you're going to die tomorrow."

She smiled. it would be fun and she had always wanted to do it.

"Is that what you're doing when you almost get expelled pulling your stunts?" she asked him.

"But of course," he said smiling.

"Let's go," she said. She went up to the table and moved the vase. Derek jumped onto the table and turned to the bored group of teens.

"_Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes_," he began singing. The bored teenagers turned around with curiosity. He continued singing.

"_Here she lies, no one knew her worth, The late great daughter of Mother Earth. On these nights when we celebrate the birth. In that little town of Bethlehem. We raise our glass- You bet your ass to-La Vie Boheme!" _Casey got up on the table and joined him.

"_La Vie Boheme, La Vie Boheme," _she started singing. The teens started getting interested. They took out their cameras, and lights were flashing, there was laughter, there were cheers, and it was amazing. Casey noticed one of them to be Cheyenne from the frat party she and Derek had gone to. She waved at her and she waved back energetically. Cheyenne stared singing with Casey. Casey encouraged the rest to sing her part as she joined Derek in the verses.

"_To days of inspiration,  
Playing hookey, making something  
Out of nothing, the need  
To express-  
To communicate,  
To going against the grain,  
Going insane,  
Going mad_" sang Derek.

"_To loving tension, no pension  
To more than one dimension,  
To starving for attention,  
Hating convention, hating pretension,  
Not to mention of course,  
Hating dear old mom and dad_" Casey sang.

"_To riding your bike Midday past the three piece suits-_"

"_To fruits-"_

"_To no absolutes-"  
_

"_To Absolute-" _

"_To choice-"  
_

"_To the Village Voice-"  
_

"_To any passing fad"_

_"To being an us- For once-  
Instead of a them-"_ Casey and Derek sang together.

_"La Vie Boheme  
La Vie Boheme,_" the teens continued. They were now standing, and Cheyenne and another girl were taking pictures like paparrattzi. A boy stood up in the crowd to take the roll of Mr. Grey. His imitation sent everyone laughing.  
_"So that's five miso soup,  
Four seaweed salad  
Three soy burger dinner,  
Two tofu dog platter  
And one pasta with meatless balls"__  
_  
_"Eww" _said Cheyenne smiling.  
_"It tastes the same"_ Derek said taking the queue.

_"If you close your eyes"_ finished Casey with a laugh.  
_  
"And thirteen orders of fries  
Is that it here?"_ said the boy.

"_Wine and beer!_" the teens yelled.

"_To hand-crafted beers made in local breweries  
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese  
To leather, to dildos, To curry Vindaloo  
To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou" _sang two red haired girls from the group as Casey led them along.

_"__Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion,  
Creation, Vacation"_ said two blonde guys out of the group led by Derek.

_  
"Mucho masturbation_" said the bartender behind them causing everyone to smile and sent the two blonde guys laughing.  
"_Compassion, to fashion, to passion, When it's new" _sang the two girls.

"_To Sontag"_

"To Sondheim"

"To anything taboo"

"Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage"

"Lenny Bruce"

"Langston Hughes"

"To the stage!"

"To Uta"

"To Buddha"

"Pablo Neruda"

"Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbowTo blow off Auntie Em"

"La Vie Boheme"

"Bisexuals, trisexuals, Homo Sapiens,Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men,Pee Wee Herman  
German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein  
Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa  
Carmina Burana

To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy  
Vaclav Havel- The Sex Pistols, 8BC  
To no shame- Never playing the fame game

To marijuana

ALL  
To sodomy  
It's between God and me  
To S & M

In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromtu salon will commence immediately following dinner Maureen Johnson, back from her  
spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot, will sing Native American  
tribal chants backwards through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric cello- which she aint never  
studied.

And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an erection on high holy days.

And Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn chair-handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being  
stirred...And Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song

That doesn't remind us of 'Musetta's  
Waltz'

_  
"Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions from Paris while accompanying herself on the 10-gallon plastic  
pickle tub," _said one of the blonde boys as Cheyenne sashayed down a fake catwalk.

"_And Collins will recount his exploits  
as an Anarchist- Including the tale of  
his successful reprogramming of the  
MIT virtual reality equipment to self-destruct as it broadcasts the words:"_ said Casey, queuing the teens to yell the last line.

"Actual Reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS!" they all yelled.

A group of adults walked into the lounge and witnessed the atrocity that was happening, so they called security. Casey saw them calling and next thing she saw was the desk clerk on the other side of the fichus picking up the phone. The teens burst into laughter and applause.

"Send me pictures Cheyenne!" she called to her friend. She grabbed Derek and signaled to him what was happening. He saw the security guard lumbering his way toward them and took the queue as they jumped down from the table.

"We'll be here tomorrow night!" Derek said. The teens cheered.

"VIVA LA VIE BOHEM!" they all screamed. Casey and Derek then took off as fast as they could, just narrowly escaping by way of the elevator.


	13. Chapter 15

**AN: READ FIRST! don't forget to review. my apologies for taking so long. i was lost. no inspiration considering the series is over! *sniff*. anywho, i got my inspiration and am now back into the swing of summer and fanfiction! yay! enjoy! :D **

Chapter 15

They stumbled into the hotel room, out of breath from running and laughing their hardest.

"Amazing tribute to RENT Mister Venturi!" Said Casey as she dipped into a curtsy.

"And you Miss Macdonald!" Said Derek goofily as he bowed in a grandiose way.

Casey ducked into the bathroom and they changed into their Pjs quickly, not knowing when their parents would get home. Derek plopped onto his bed and watched Casey flit from one spot of the room to the other like he did so much at home. He chuckled. She could never keep still could she? He got up.

"Casey," He said, "why don't you sit down, calm down? You're going nuts."

"I don't know, I'm just so excited!" He chuckled. "I'm serious Derek! College is going to be awesome!"

"Yes it is!" he said getting over excited in his goofy way. he grabbed her around the waist and flung her on the bed with him. She squealed and they started laughing. He rolled over so that he was laying next to her.

"I know, college will be great for you. You've been planning forever."

"I have! I love the idea of it! I'll definitely be in NYU and study theatre and English, and you'll be studying film, I just know it! and I can walk over to your dorm and we can hang out and-"

"Wait," Derek said, cutting her off, "You just mentioned me in your college plan."

"What? If you don't want to go the NYU then UCLA would be fine for filming. I hear they have a great program. I can always call you-"

"Just thought you didn't want me in your life once you went to college." He said facing her. She cast her eyes down away from his face.

"well, maybe I've changed it up a bit," she said turning a little pink.

"A bit?" he said with a smile breaking over his own face.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"You won't regret it will you?" Derek said in almost a whisper, "cause I'd hate it if you did."

Casey felt her face flush. She could feel her stomach doing back flips. Who ever knew Derek could make her feel this way? She didn't get it. She always spent her time making sure she hated him. But then again, (she always came back to the same conclusion lately)maybe she always knew deep down she would feel this way if she ever stopped hating him.

"So would you?" he asked her again. She risked it and looked up at him and searched his face for feeling. What she found was eagerness and somehow mixed in was sincerity. She couldn't believe it. He actually wanted her to say she wouldn't regret it. he wanted her to say 'yes Derek, I want you to be part of my life'. And she still couldn't believe it, but she actually wanted to say what he wanted her to.

"No," she said softly, "no. not in a million years." He leaned forward. Only about half an inch. If Casey wasn't right in front of him but instead was an outsider looking on the scene she would've never noticed. His hand hesitantly reached up to her cheek. He stopped. He had come this far in being completely controlled. He didn't want to be irresponsible anymore. He had shaped up his grades last semester(without telling Casey). He didn't want to blow this new streak now. It rested in midair for what seemed like forever. As if in a trance, he hastily moved it to move a piece of hair behind Casey's ear. She didn't drop her gaze for a second. She was intently staring into him. Into his eyes, sure, but past them, into them. She didn't know what it was but this reserved part of him seemed to be showing a lot more lately. He seemed to be more _responsible._ Responsible, Derek? she would mostly say impossible, but in the past week she had seen a change. A change she never knew could happen, but it had. He cleared his throat.

"Um, you know what's on tonight in America?"

"No," responded Casey.

"Neither do I," Derek said as he flipped on the TV. They flipped to HBO to find _Ten Things I Hate About You _on the screen.It was a movie based on Shakespeare's _Taming Of the Shrew_, enough to get Casey watching it, and it had some hilarious and ridiculously stupid moments in there spread out enough for Derek to agree to watch it. _Great,_ thought Casey_, just the thing for me to forget how much I like Derek and shouldn't; the guy I should hate is the one I'm watching this freaking love/hate movie with. Could my luck be any worse? Wait! I just admitted I like Derek! I do not! do I? does it matter? The point is I shouldn't. and I don't! I'm not doing anything wrong! am I? _

This vicious circle continued in her conscience for quite a while. That is until the scene when Bianca starts punching the popular jock scum ball she nearly went out with. That was about the time Lizzie and Edwin walked in.

"Hey you two," Lizzie said, "what's up?"

"not much," said Derek as he moved his arm from being around Casey's shoulder to hoist himself up. Casey hadn't even noticed it was there.

"oh, and you forgot something at FAO. Derek, I think this bag belongs to you. We found it by the Chewbacca," said Edwin holding up an FAO Schwartz bag. In it was the rainbow unicorn. Derek turned a little pink at the sight of it.

"Thanks. You know it's for Marti."

"We figured."

"Where is she? and Mom and George?" asked Casey, now also sitting up.

"Downstairs in the lobby," responded Lizzie, "they're doing something with the desk clerk." She went and sat down in the chair by the window.

"Okay, great." Said Derek as he took out the receipt and looked at it. Casey saw him eyeing it. She took his hand that was holding the receipt. He felt an electric shock go through his arm. It was quite unsettling to him that this was happening so often lately.

"You can throw it away,' she said, "she's going to love it. there's no way she'll turn a gift down if it's given to her by her Smerek." He looked at her with grateful eyes, hoping Lizzie and Edwin didn't catch the glance. It's as if she read his mind, and if that wasn't strange enough, she seemed to know exactly what to say to ease his mind.

He tossed the receipt in the wastebasket and didn't give it a second thought.

When Marti came in, Nora and George didn't come out much later. Derek's head was spinning. It killed him that he couldn't come up with a solid lie to give Marti the unicorn, but so much had happened today he couldn't keep his head straight.

"Hey Mom, hey George. Hey Marti! We found something really cool today on the tenth floor when we were hanging around today in the hotel."

_Casey back to the rescue, _thought Derek, _Who ever knew she was such a good liar?_

"Can I Dad?" Marti piped up.

"Do you mind Nora?" asked Derek.

"Why not?"

"go ahead kids,' Nora said.

Derek and Casey didn't wait a second longer. Derek Picked up Marti and they all went out to the hall, bag in Casey's hand. they went into the elevator and made their way to the tenth floor. Casey led the way all the way down to the large window at the end of the hall.

"Come here Marti," said Casey, "look right here." She pointed to the bottom corner of the window. Derek crouched down to Marti and Casey's level and saw a bird's nest with two sparrows there with three babies, what seemed to be very young, maybe only weeks old. When Casey had the time to find this or how she even knew it was here was beyond him.

"Wow! Look Smerek! Look at the baby birds! They're so cute! You think we could have one?" he chuckled lightly, just enough for his amusement but not enough for Marti to hear him. He'd hate it if she thought he was laughing at her.

"I don't think they're ours to keep," he said, "but maybe one day Dad and Nora will get a bird."

"Anyways," Casey jumped in before any other questions could pass that may get her and Derek in trouble if they were answered, "we also got you a little something."

Marti wore a very perplexed look on her face.

"don't tell anyone, not a soul. This is our secret, okay Smarti?" Derek said.

"I promise Smerek, pinky promise!" she said holding out her pinky. He took it with his own. They all smiled. Casey gave the bag to Derek and Derek reached in and brought out the rainbow unicorn. Marti's eyes widened and so did her smile.

"Smerek! Thank you thank you thank you!" Derek chuckled.

"no problem Smarti. I thought you'd like it." he said. He looked up to see Casey's eyes on him and a smile on her face. He smiled and got lost in her eyes. Yeah, corny, cheesy and all those other food groups, but it was true. He couldn't escape them.

"Smerek?" Marti said looking at him. She looked at Casey. "Casey?"

"huh?" she said breaking out of her trance. Derek looked down hastily not wanting Marti to see him blush.

"Can we go back to the room?"

"Sure Smarti," Derek said clearing his throat. They headed towards the elevator. They got in and went back to the room. Derek kept stealing glances at Casey, and Casey kept stealing glances at Derek. For some odd reason, for the first time that day, the only one to catch the glances was Marti instead of the two involved. She smiled. 


	14. Chapter 16

**AN: Thank you so much for all of you who have reviewed! this story broke fifty on review and i don't think any other story has done that! wow! i'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**don't forget to keep reading and reviewing. tell me what you like, what you don't like, etc. more reviews= more frequent, and longer updates. enjoy! **

When they got back Marti told Nora and George all about the birds Casey and Derek had shown her.

"Can we get a bird Daddy?" Marti asked. George chuckled.

"we'll see," he said, looking at Casey and Derek with warning looks that said _if you get another idea like that in her head you're both dead meat. _

"But in the meantime, we are going to extend our stay here in New York! It'll be great. We know you two want to see more of NYU and you seem to really love it so far, so we want you to spend as much time was you need to." George said with a smile that seemed to be contagious for everyone else was smiling with him shortly after hearing the news. More time in New York? This was great! Who wouldn't want an extended stay in New York? It was amazing.

"Tomorrow though, Casey, you will be going to your dad's house to spend some time with him."

"Okay," she said in a small voice. She was all of a sudden nervous about going over there. Her father had done some great things before and especially when he was her age. What if wasn't impressed with the things she had done? What if he wasn't proud of her? what if he thought she needed to try harder even if she was trying the hardest in everything already?

"And because you will probably stay out late, I want you to go with Derek. It is the safe option and there's no talking me out of it." she said sternly. Casey tried her hardest to push down a smile. To her surprise she succeeded in convincingly sound reluctant in her consent. Derek playfully brought an arm around her shoulder.

"We'll have a great time!" he said in his sarcastic manner and a mischievous grin on his face.

"And be on your best behavior Derek," George said warningly, "I don't want to hear about any screw ups, okay?"

"oh, no problem Dad. no need to worry. Everything will be under control." He said smoothly. George gave him a final doubting look before he turned around and started speaking with Nora about their plans for the next few days. When he thought no one else was looking, he leaned in and whispered in Casey's ear:

" Your dad loves you. He'll be proud of anything you do, no matter what it is." She was shocked. He could read her like a book sometimes. He rested his forehead on her temple. "even if it is tripping twice every day in the school hallway on your way to and from lunch." He said teasingly. She giggled.

"funny," she responded in a sarcastic and playful tone. Their sweet and warm interaction was thought of as noticed by only themselves, but two other pairs of eyes had caught the interaction as well. Who else but Edwin and Lizzie.

**sorry it's so short, but no worries. i will have more for you later. **


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